ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Winthrop University baseball starting pitcher
Luke Earnhardt and
Brayden Gilley have been named to the initial National Pitcher of the Year Award watch list, as presented by the College Baseball Foundation, released Wednesday.
A total of 142 of the nation's best hurlers are listed on the Pitcher of the Year watch list. The pitchers on the watch list represent 26 different conferences and reflect the top mound performers to this point of the 2026 season.
"There is an old adage in baseball that pitchers are usually ahead of the hitters early in the season," National Pitcher of the Year Award co-chair Brian Melakian said. "The number of early season dominant pitching performances this year proves that adage to be true."
Through four starts, Earnhardt is 2-1 with a 3.93 ERA and 18.1 innings pitched. He has recorded 28 strikeouts against six walks, holding opposing hitters to a .257 average with a 1.36 WHIP. Earnhardt has posted only five doubles and one triple allowed while stranding baserunners at a consistent clip.
Gilley has been one of the Big South's most consistent starters through the early weeks of the 2026 season, being named Big South Pitcher of the Week for the week of Feb 23. The right-hander is 3-1 with a 4.05 ERA across four starts, logging 20.0 innings with 18 strikeouts, six walks and a 1.35 WHIP. Gilley has held opposing hitters to a .263 average, adding a shutout to his ledger in the process.
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